This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
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Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Marysz - - January 8, 2012
Subject: Don't Bottle It Up
A surprisingly good 1953 film that shows children how to recognize and deal with their angry feelings. Susan blows up at her sister Carol because she won't take turns at jump rope with their friend Priscilla. Paul gets mad at his friend Pete because Pete decides to play baseball instead of flying model planes. The film reassures kids that it's natural to get angry and not to keep it bottled up.

Susan ends up talking about her feelings to her mother. Paul goes into the school gym where his teacher Mr. Jackson lets him use the punching bag to get rid of his angry feelings at Peter. Carol writes a short story about her feelings about her fight with her sister and Eddie draws a cartoon and makes a clay sculpture of an aunt who was mean to him. Children are encouraged to work out their anger in ways that don't hurt or make others angry, good advice, since children have so little control over their circumstances. The film's attitude towards the children's anger is nonjudgmental and free of the dime-store Freudianisms so common in the fifties.

Reviewer: doowopbob - - April 4, 2009
Subject: Yo, Kiddies....
Don't Get Angry, Get Even!....Pssst....Dad's Gun Is In His Dresser Drawer!

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - August 20, 2005
Subject: Stupid Film! I Hate It!!
This mental hygiene film tells kids they should find some non-harmful way to let their anger out, so that it doesnt get bottled up and result in destructive behavior. Unlike Dont Be Afraid, it makes its case fairly plausibly, assuming youre dealing with kids who basically have good self-control most of the time. The pressure cooker theory of anger management has since been discredited with people who have serious problems with destructive or abusive behavior, but back in the 50s, you could buy this. The child actors could be better, giving this some camp value, but they could be worse, too. The graphics are great, especially the boiling teakettle image superimposed over the kids faces. So are the scenes of using art to express angerI bet Eddie grew up to be a political cartoonist.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - March 9, 2005
Subject: Get Even!
Poor Susan! Angry at her sister and 'Priscilla' for not being able to jump rope when she wants to! Or Paul, when a friend blows him off to do something a little more interesting and productive! Well1 Don't bottle those feelings up inside or start yelling and knocking over candlesticks! Talk to your mother! Or Homeroom Teachers! Or The Coach(?!) do constructive things to express your anger! Make clay characters of your enemies and squish them to death! Punch the punching bag and pretend that it's your enemy!
Mind numbing to say the least, and the kids acting is atrocious (especially the kid playing 'Susan' who's screamingly bad). Love the odd costuming here, With paul's hat with the flaps over the ears or the very strange and odd looking head scarves the kids use to jump rope, which I've NEVER seen in a film like this, or heck, anywhere.

This is a MUST see on this site!